Meet our team
The people bringing next-generation energy to life across the UK and Australia.
About CEA
Expert knowledge you can trust
Our team brings together decades of experience across energy infrastructure sectors. As experts in our respective fields, we combine deep technical knowledge with genuine passion for energy development.
What makes us different isn’t just our expertise – it’s how we work with our clients. We share knowledge, challenge ideas respectfully, and celebrate success collectively.
Leadership
Leading through expertise and partnership
Every energy project brings unique challenges. That’s why we’ve assembled a team that combines technical excellence with practical problem-solving and collaborative working.
From offshore wind specialists who understand complex marine environments, to nuclear experts who advise on policy and compliance with regulatory frameworks.
Our team
Leadership team
Rachel McCall
Founder and CEO
Rachel is Chief Executive Officer at CEA and has more than 20 years experience accumulated in multidisciplinary consultancy for energy projects including new nuclear power stations, interconnectors, onshore and offshore wind farms, solar, and wave and tidal projects totaling several GW.
As well as founding and leading the growth and development of CEA, Rachel has held a range of key roles for development, construction and operational phases of projects, providing technical direction, strategy development and procedures for surveys, environmental assessment and consenting to achieve timely consent decisions and align with client objectives regarding programme and budget.
Her approach is underpinned by a strong working understanding of policy and legislation; deep technical expertise; knowledge of commercial project drivers; and skilled stakeholder engagement. Rachel is able to quickly to get to grips with complex challenges and find workable solutions to support our clients and the continued development of CEA.
Lisa Jones
Managing Director
Lisa is the Managing Director at CEA, where she oversees the organisation’s leadership and business operations. She brings over 16 years of experience in regulatory and operational roles within the environmental sector, spanning compliance, inspection, assurance, and environmental management.
A qualified project manager and trained regulator, Lisa has held technical leadership and compliance roles on major infrastructure projects, including oversight of regulatory applications and environmental management systems. Her experience spans both nuclear and non-nuclear sectors, where she has led inspections, advised on permitting, and contributed to national reporting on environmental performance.
Rachel Ayres
Business Operations Manager
With nearly 15 years of experience supporting renewables consultancies, Rachel has built a solid track record in business operations management. She has a strong background in commercial legal advisory, contracts, and improving business processes, underpinned by a degree in Law and qualifications as a data protection practitioner.
Her work often focuses on keeping operations running smoothly and ensuring compliance, particularly around data protection and regulatory requirements.
Known for combining legal expertise with practical business thinking, she helps teams stay efficient, aligned, and focused on delivery. Rachel enjoys finding smart, workable solutions that support long-term, sustainable growth.
Daniel Bates
Director of Offshore Wind
Daniel is the Director of Offshore Wind for CEA. He has over 15 years’ experience of delivering major infrastructure projects in the UK and internationally with detailed knowledge of offshore wind development, consenting and environmental impact assessment (EIA).
Daniel’s specialisms include offshore wind due diligence and strategic advice, onshore and offshore consents management, EIA management, land acquisition, stakeholder engagement and liaison, and site selection.
He has managed offshore wind consents across multiple markets and has provided strategic and project specific consents advice for development opportunities in the UK, Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Anna Farley
Director of Power Cables
Anna is the Director of Power Cables for CEA and has 20 years’ experience providing marine environmental consultancy services for marine power and telecommunications cables, offshore oil and gas and offshore wind across the project lifecycle.
Her experience covers all aspects of the project lifecycle from site investigation and cable routing, through to marine survey, consents, and management of environmental commitments during construction and operations.
Anna specialises in environmental impact assessment, habitats regulations assessment and stakeholder and fisheries consultation and liaison. She has secured the consents for three major UK interconnectors and been involved in a technical leadership capacity in over ten others. Anna is experienced in managing consenting risks to ensure consents are constructable and environmental impacts are proportionately mitigated.
Jo Plyer
Director of Nuclear
Jo is Director of Nuclear for CEA and has over 20 years’ experience working in the environmental field, 15 of which were as a regulator for the Environment Agency, and 8 of which as nuclear regulator.
She has led environmental compliance inspections / surveillance activities and provided expert advice on environmental legislation, regulatory guidance and government policy. She has reviewed Generic Design Assessment documents in support of nuclear new build and reviewed Generation IV reactor designs. She has worked internationally as an expert authoring guidance documents supporting decommissioning, radioactive waste management and Environmental Impact Assessment.
Jo has developed and delivered training on environmental legislation and radioactive waste optimisation, with a strong focus on equipping and mentoring the next generation of nuclear professionals. Jo enjoys building strong relationships with all those that she works with to get the best environmental outcome.
Julie Drew-Murphy
Technical Director
Julie is a seasoned renewable energy development professional with over 20 years of experience, specialising in offshore wind. Her expertise spans the full project lifecycle – from feasibility and early-stage design to bid management, consenting and licensing, compliance through construction, M&A due diligence, business development, and team leadership.
A specialist in environmental impact assessment (EIA), consenting, and project management, Julie has led the development of several large, complex offshore wind farms. She brings a hands-on approach to project delivery, taking full ownership with a focus on quality, safety, and client satisfaction.
Julie is also an accomplished Contract Manager, experienced in both development and construction phases, and is adept at managing budgets, risk, schedules, and stakeholder relationships. Her leadership style is collaborative and empowering – she has built and led high-performing, multidisciplinary teams, fostering a culture of accountability and excellence.
With a strong track record in stakeholder engagement, Julie excels at navigating complex regulatory environments and building trusted relationships with clients, shareholders, contractors, regulators, and the public.
Maria Scarlett
Technical Director
Maria is a Technical Director at CEA with over 20 years of experience in site selection and development of onshore and offshore wind and gas projects, in a number of different geographies.
Maria is an experienced development project manager with skills in project execution, risk management, budget and program development, audits, management of consultants, stakeholder consultation, liaison, and negotiation. She supports clients in providing informed responses to Government policy and planning consultations. She has many years of practical experience engaging Government, Regulators, Local Authorities, and NGOs on projects in various parts of the world, to ensure that project timescales are achieved. She has also led negotiations with landowners to secure temporary and permanent access rights.
She also has experience supporting Mergers & Acquisitions, conducting due diligence across environmental and social technical documents and budget and program documentation.
Maria was previously seconded to the Australian offshore wind project, Gippsland Skies as Head of Development and is based in Melbourne supporting CEA Australia.
We’re hiring!
Join our expert team
We’re growing our team across the UK and Australia. Whether you’re an experienced consultant or ready to start your career in energy infrastructure, we’re looking for people who share our commitment to work collaboratively towards a more resilient energy future.